Malawi Southern Region

allaboutmalawi

December 8, 2018 2019.02.06

Malawi Southern Region

The Southern Region is the most populated and developed region, with a wide variety of landscapes, including as it does the highest and lowest points in the country. The mixture of highlands and plateaux, this is also the region with the most visited game park and the most popular stretch of lakeshore.

The headquarters of the Southern Region are in Blantyre. Blantyre, the commercial capital, and Zomba, the old colonial capital, are in the south. This region has three National Parks and two Wildlife Reserves, including the Lake Malawi National Park, and a number of forested highland areas.

DISTRICT

LAND AREA (km²)

LAND AREA (mi²)

Mangochi

6,273 km²

2,422 mi²

Balaka

2,193 km²

847 mi²

Machinga

3,771 km²

1,456 mi²

Zomba

2,580 km²

996 mi²

Phalombe

1,394 km²

538 mi²

Mulanje

2,056 km²

794 mi²

Chiradzulu

767 km²

296 mi²

Thyolo

1,715 km²

662 mi²

Blantyre

2,012 km²

777 mi²

Nsanje

1,942 km²

750 mi²

Chikwawa

4,755 km²

1,836 mi²

Mwanza

826 km²

319 mi²

Neno

1,469 km²

567 mi²

People

The Ngoni, Yao, Lomwe, Nyanja and Sena ethnic groups are the man inhabitants of the Southern Region. They are Bantu speaking language groups. Major towns in the region are multi-ethnic with a large population of Asians and Europeans.

Economic Activities

Blantyre is Malawi’s centre of finance and commerce, and the region’s main economic hub with several heavy and light industries.

The main cash crop grown in the region is tobacco. Other crops include cotton, tea, maize, sugarcane and rice. Other economic activities include mining (titanium, gold, limestone, fluorite, diatomite, uranium and niobium), production of hydroelectric power, food processing, livestock rearing, fishing, iron and steel production, timber, cement, soap and textile manufacturing, furniture production and irrigation.

Fishing is mainly carried out in Lake Chilwa. Textile manufacturing is done at Blantyre, Zomba and Chiromo. Boat building and repair is done at Mpwepwe, Mangochi District.

The region is served by Chileka International Airport (Blantyre) and a network of roads that links it to neighbouring countries and other districts.